Kaikauwhau 3
1 He taima ano kua takoto mo nga mea katoa, me te wa mo nga meatanga katoa i raro i te rangi:
Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
2 He wa e whanau ai, he wa e mate ai; he wa e whakato ai, he wa e hutia ai te mea i whakatokia;
A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
3 He wa e patu ai, he wa e rongoa ai; he wa e wawahi iho ai, he wa e hanga ake ai;
A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
4 He wa e tangi ai, he wa e kata ai; he wa e aue ai, he wa e kanikani ai;
A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
5 He wa e akiritia atu ai nga kohatu, he wa e kohikohia ai nga kohatu; he wa e awhi ai, he wa e kore ai e awhi;
A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
6 He wa e rapu ai, he wa e ngaro ai; he wa e tiaki ai; he wa e akiri atu ai;
A time of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
7 He wa e haehae ai, he wa e tuitui ai; he wa e whakarongo puku ai, he wa e korero ai;
A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
8 He wa e aroha ai, he wa e mauahara ai; he wa e whawhai ai, he wa e mau ai te rongo.
A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
9 He aha te pai ki te kaimahi i tana mea i mauiui ai ia?
So what do you get for all your hard work?
10 Kua kite ahau i te raruraru e homai ana e te Atua ki nga tama a te tangata hei whakararu i a ratou.
I have examined what God gives us to do.
11 I hanga e ia nga mea katoa kia ataahua i tona wa ano: a i whakanohoia e ia te ao ki o ratou ngakau, engari kia kaua te tangata e kite i ta te Atua mahi i mahi ai, mai i te timatanga a taea noatia te mutunga.
Everything God does is beautifully timed, and even though he has also placed the idea of eternity in our minds, we can't fully understand what God does from beginning to end.
12 E mohio ana ahau kahore he mea pai atu mo ratou i te ngakau hari, i te mahi i te pai i a ratou e ora ana.
I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.
13 A he mea hoki na te Atua kia kai nga tangata katoa, kia inu, kia kite ano hoki i te pai o to ratou mauiui katoa.
In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
14 E mohio ana ahau ko nga mea katoa e hanga ana e te Atua, ka mau tonu a ake ake: e kore tetahi mea e honoa mai, e kore ano hoki tetahi wahi e tangohia atu: i meatia hoki e te Atua kia wehi ai nga tangata i tona aroaro.
I also concluded that everything God does lasts forever: nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God acts in this way so that people may stand in awe of him.
15 Ko to mua mea koia ano tenei inaianei; na, ko te mea e puta mai a mua kua puta noa ake; e rapua ana ano e te Atua te mea onamata.
Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
16 Na i kitea ano e ahau i raro i te ra, ko te wahi o te whakawa i reira ia te kino; a ko te wahi o te tika ko te kino i reira.
I also observed that here on earth there was evil even in the place where there was supposed to be justice; even where things were meant to be right, there was evil.
17 Ka mea ahau i roto i toku ngakau, Tera e whakawakia e te Atua te tangata tika raua ko te tangata kino: no te mea kua takoto te wa i reira mo nga meatanga katoa, mo nga mahi katoa.
But then I thought to myself, “Ultimately God will judge both those who do right and those who do wrong, and every deed and action, at the appointed time.”
18 I mea ahau i roto i toku ngakau, Na te mea mo nga tama a te tangata, he mea na te Atua hei whakaatu i a ratou, kia kite ai ratou he pera noa iho ratou i te kararehe.
I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”
19 Ko te mea hoki e pa ana ki nga tama a te tangata, e pa ana ki nga kararehe; kotahi tonu te mea e pa ana ki a ratou; ko te matenga o tetahi rite tonu ki te matenga o tetahi; ae ra, kotahi tonu ano manawa o ratou katoa; kihai hoki te tangata i hip a ake i te kararehe; he horihori hoki te katoa.
For what happens to human beings is the same as what happens to animals—in the same way one dies, the other dies too. They all have the breath of life—so regarding any advantage human beings have over animals, there is none. Definitely this is very hard to understand!
20 E haere ana te katoa ki te wahi kotahi; no te puehu nei te katoa, ka hoki ano te katoa ki te puehu.
They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
21 Ko wai e matau ana ki te wairua o te tangata, e haere ana ranei ki runga, ki te wairua ranei o te kararehe, mehemea ranei e heke iho ana ki raro ki te whenua?
Who really knows whether the breath of life of human beings goes up above, and the breath of life of animals goes down below to the earth?
22 Na ka kite ahau kahore he pai nui atu i tenei, ara kia koa te tangata ki ana mahi; ko te wahi hoki tera mana: ma wai ia e whakahoki mai, e mea kia kite i nga mea e puta mai i muri i a ia?
So I concluded that there's nothing better than for people to enjoy their work. This is what we are meant to do. For who can bring anyone back from the dead to show them what will happen after they die?
